“I appreciate that,” Shelby said. “These visits aren’t easy for anyone, but I don’t see any issues. No concerns. My hope and wish are always for the child and his care. He seems happy, comfortable, and as adjusted as expected. I see no reason to remove him from your custody, and I will note this in my report. You can rest easy.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Sorry if I was a dick.”
She smiled as Chance lowered his voice to say the last part.
“You’ve been much better than others in this same situation.” Shelby walked to the table and saw Maverick reaching for his fruit trying to shove it into his mouth before he was done chewing.
Chance moved the plate back. “Chew that first, Maverick. Then you can have more.”
“He thinks I’m going to take the food from him,” Shelby said.
“What?” he asked.
“I’ve done visits to the home before. He’s used to eating alone on the floor. If you put him next to someone if he has food and they don’t, he thinks they are going to take it and he eats it faster.”
Why hadn’t they thought of that?
“I’m not going to let him eat alone,” he said. “First, he could choke.”
“I know. I’m just letting you know what I observed before. When Nettie or Baylee gave him food to keep him occupied, he ate it slower by himself. But if they put him at the table with them there or sat him next to them, Baylee would pick food off his plate. He’d yell and want it back, then eat faster.”
“Jesus,” he said.
“It’s going to take time, but I think he’ll get there. Call me if you have questions, though I doubt you will. No one ever calls me voluntarily.”
The smile was back with those parting words and Chance showed Shelby out.
“Your face is red,” she said.
“I’m ticked. I’m sick to my stomach over what she just said.”
“She gave you a piece of information you needed,” she said. “Take it for what it is. Now we know. It’s going to be something else we have to work on. Let him eat his snack while we watch from a distance. We’ll know whether what she said is true.”
They moved back a few feet after they pushed the plate next to Maverick. The toddler slowed his feeding down.
“Guess that is one mystery solved,” he said.
She let out a breath. “Time, Chance. Cut yourself some slack and breathe easier. Maverick isn’t going anywhere and neither am I.”
He pulled her into his arms and held her, the tension in his body releasing, the same as hers.
Her heart was pounding with the need to express her love, but he wouldn’t be able to handle the weight of that with everything else.
35
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
“How is it going with the little guy?”
Chance turned his head from where he was looking at his phone. The next shift was coming in and he’d be off for six days now.
“Better,” he said.
It’d been almost a month since he had known of his son’s existence. Daycare was in place quickly, which allowed him to get Maverick used to it before he started back on his rotation.
In thirty minutes he’d be out of here for six days and could work at the pub and relieve his grandmother some.
“Where is Maverick at night?” Justin asked.
